H/D Exchange at Aromatic and Heteroaromatic Hydrocarbons Using D₂O as the Deuterium Source and Ruthenium Dihydrogen Complexes as the Catalyst

Abstract

Getting heavy: At temperatures as low as 50 °C, D2O can serve as a cheap and readily available deuterium source for the efficient deuteration of aromatic and heteroaromatic substrates if nonclassical ruthenium hydride complexes are used as catalysts (see scheme). DFT calculations support a catalytic cycle comprising σ-bond metathesis as the key step for the exchange processes. Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2002/2007/z603677_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.